1. When you were in high school, did you learn about religions around the world? Explain.

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1 Part A: Pre-reading Discussion option 1 Issue: Learning about Religions in School 1. When you were in high school, did you learn about religions around the world? Explain. 2. Agree or Disagree: Parents should be able to take their children OUT of a high school course if different world religions are taught in that course. 3. In Canada, there are public and private schools. Some private schools are organized by a religious/faith group. Do you think a Catholic School, for example, should teach about all religions and not just Catholicism? Explain. 1 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

2 Part A: Pre-reading Discussion option 2 Issue: Learning about Religions in School 1. When did you first learn about the idea of religion? Explain 2. Did your parents follow or practice a religion? If YES, how did it impact your life? Explain. If NO, would you do the same with your children? 3. When you were in high school, did you learn about religions from around the world? Explain. 4. In your home country, do religious schools exist? - public (gov t pays)? OR private (parents pay)? 5. In Canada, there are public and private schools. Some private schools are organized by a religious/faith group. Do you think a Catholic School, for example, should teach about all religions and not just Catholicism? Explain. 2 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

3 Part B: Pre-reading Vocabulary task 1. Important Vocabulary Be sure to look up the words you are not familiar with and complete this chart. Word Word Form Meaning an appeal to appeal a case to dismiss be exempt from an exemption to infringe to judge a judgment incompatible with probabilities a violation 2. Who s involved in this story? Canadian Civil Liberties Association Commission scolaire des Chenes Eight interveners Panel of judges Parents Quebec Court of Appeal Quebec Education Department Quebec Superior Court Supreme Court of Canada The School Board After you read the news story, create a visual to show the divisions (Who is against who?) and the levels of power within the divisions. 3 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

4 Part C News story [All AWL sublist words are highlighted in this story] Supreme Court stands by Quebec schools' religion course By Thandi Fletcher and Natalie Stechyson, Postmedia News February 17, 2012 Guess what? Because of history, Catholic schools in the province of Quebec are considered public, which means the government funds them. 1) Catholic parents in Quebec cannot keep their kids out of a school course that teaches them about other religions, the country's top court has ruled. 2) The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday rendered its decision in a controversial case that was cast by some observers as a matter of religious freedom versus a bid by the province to increase tolerance. 3) Allowing children to opt out of the course would be "a rejection of the multicultural reality of Canadian society and ignores the Quebec government's obligations with regard to public education," the court ruled. 4) The case pit a set of Catholic parents against the school board and the Ministry of Education in the province of Quebec. 5) Quebec's Ethics and Religious Culture program became mandatory for schools in May ) In the course, students learn about the Catholic and Protestant Christian traditions in Quebec culture. The program is meant to expose students who are also taught about the contributions of Judaism, aboriginal spirituality and other religious traditions to a variety of religions. 7) The couple from Drummondville, Que., at the centre of the case, who can't be identified, wrote to their children's schools asking that they be exempt from the course. 8) They said they didn't want their children taking the course because of "the disruption caused by forced, premature contact with a series of beliefs that were mostly incompatible with those of the family, as well as the adverse effect on the religious faith of the members of this family," court documents said. 9) The parents maintained that the program interfered with their ability to pass on the Catholic religion to their children, and that exposing their children to various religions was confusing for them. 10) The couple went to court after the Commission scolaire des Chenes refused to exempt their two children. 11) Quebec's Education Department had publicly announced there would no exemptions. 4 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

5 12) In 2009, a Quebec Superior Court judge rejected the parents' request for an exemption for their children, ruling their right to freedom of religion was not being violated. 13) Last year, the Quebec Court of Appeal rejected their bid to appeal the decision. There were eight interveners in the case, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. 14) On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. 15) The court's panel of judges was unanimous in its final decision, finding that the parents did not sufficiently prove that the program infringed on their right to freedom of religion. 16) "It is not enough for a person to say that his or her rights have been infringed," a summary of the judgment stated. "The person must prove the infringement on a balance of probabilities." 17) In an explanation of the ruling, Justice Marie Deschamps explained "the early exposure of children to realities that differ from those in their immediate family environment is a fact of life in society." 18) "Parents are free to pass their personal beliefs on to their children if they so wish," she wrote. 19) "The suggestion that exposing children to a variety of religious facts in itself infringes their religious freedom or that of their parents amounts to a rejection of the multicultural reality of Canadian society and ignores the Quebec government's obligations with regard to public education." 20) Due to the neutral nature of the program, Justice Louis LeBel wrote that simply exposing children to religions is not enough to be considered a violation of freedom of religion. 21) "The very nature of a public education system implies the creation of opportunities for students of different origins and religions to learn about the diversity of opinions and cultures existing in our society, even in religious matters," wrote LeBel. "Imparting information about different views of the world cannot be equated with a violation of freedom of religion." What is the main issue in this news story? Use your own words to explain. 5 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

6 Adapted Source: Copyright Postmedia News Supreme Court stands by Quebec schools' religion course By Thandi Fletcher and Natalie Stechyson, Postmedia News February 17, 2012 Part D: Comprehension Questions 1. What happened? Complete this sequence of events a) May 2008 the Ethics and Religious Culture program started in all Quebec high schools b) A Quebec family c) refused to allow the children to skip that class d) The Quebec family e) Quebec Superior Court f) appealed the decision to the g) Quebec Court of Appeal h) The Quebec family to the Supreme Court of Canada i) February 17, 2012 Part E: Vocabulary in context Use context clues to guess the meanings of the words in bold. Note the words that helped you. Example: (para 1) the country s top court has ruled - decided (para 2) decision) (para 2) a bid by the province to increase tolerance (para 3) allowing children to opt out of the course (para 4) case pit a set of parents against the school board (para 5) program became mandatory for schools (para 6) the program is meant to expose children to Part F: Inference What do you think these organizations would do? (para 10) Commission scolaire des Chenes (para 13) Canadian Civil Liberties Association 6 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

7 Part G: Determining Arguments For & Against the issue Complete this chart. In the first part, also identify WHO holds the view. Use your own words as much as possible for paraphrasing practice. ISSUE: Should Quebec parents be allowed to take their children out of the Ethics & Religious course? Arguments FOR from article Arguments AGAINST from article Justice Marie Deschamps (Supreme Court of Canada) (para 17) In reality, children will often learn and see differences between their family and society Your /Group s Arguments FOR Your/ Group s Arguments AGAINST 7 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]

8 Part H: Post task Discussion 1/ Make a list of adjectives you could use to describe the Quebec family in this news story. 2/ Do you know of a family or group of people that might behave similarly in this situation? Explain. 3/ As a group, write 4 discussion questions about the roles of family & schools in regards to learning about religion. Everyone in the group needs to have the questions on his/her own piece of paper. Later, each of you will use the questions to lead a discussion in another group. 8 JaniceGTPenner Free Handouts ADV Learning ---school [610 / 45.74%/ 13.36]